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Keelung is a port city on the north-east tip of Taiwan, part of the Taipei-Keelung metropolitan area. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and its life on the sea, it is Taiwan's second largest seaport after Kaohsiung, and in 1984 it was the seventh busiest cargo port in the world.
The Spanish built Fort San Salvador here in 1626, on land of the Basay people, and the Dutch drove them out in 1642. Under the Qing the harbour was attacked by the British in the Opium War and by the French in the Sino-French War of 1884, and hilltop batteries from both conflicts still survive. Japan took Taiwan in 1895 and built the modern port, and the city was known as Kirun until 1945.
Today visitors eat their way through the stalls of Miaokou around the Dianji Temple, climb to the giant Guanyin in Zhongzheng Park, walk the eroded rocks of Heping Island and photograph the painted houses of Zhengbin Fishing Port. Each summer the city holds one of Taiwan's greatest Ghost Festivals.
Opened in 1886 and developed by the Japanese, the harbour cuts a narrow waterway about 2,000 metres long and 400 metres wide into the city centre. It was Taiwan's largest port in the early 20th century and the world's seventh busiest cargo port in 1984, and ships still sail to Matsu and Okinawa.
Named for its place in front of the Dianji Temple, this market began with food stalls serving pilgrims in the late Japanese era and has about 200 stalls today. Some stay open around the clock, and in 2021 Tatler ranked it among the 20 best-known food markets in the world.
Built in 1875 and also called the Holy King temple, this shrine honours Chen Yuanguang, the Tang dynasty general who opened up Zhangzhou in Fujian, and it was the spiritual home of Keelung's many settlers from that region. Its busy forecourt grew into the famous Miaokou night market around it.
Built in 1931 by the bus company owner Isuke Nagami for his staff, this house mixes Japanese and Western styles, with a receiving room and a Japanese garden. After 1945 it became the temporary home of the fortress commander, and since 2021 it has opened to visitors at weekends.
Laid out on a hill above the east side of the harbour, this park began as a private garden given to the city in 1933 and became a public park in 1950. On its top level a white statue of the goddess Guanyin about 22.5 metres tall, flanked by golden lions, looks out over the port and city.
This hall on the hilltop of Zhongzheng Park is the central site of the Keelung Ghost Festival, where the great offerings to wandering spirits are made. The first permanent altar was planned in 1928 in the city centre, and the present hall was rebuilt here in 1974 with a festival museum inside.
Held since 1855 to end deadly feuds between settlers from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, the festival is hosted in turn by local clans through the seventh lunar month. Water lanterns are paraded through the city and floated out to sea at Badouzi, and in 2008 it was listed as a national folk custom.
First built in 1840 to defend the harbour against the British during the Opium War, this battery was rebuilt on the hillside by Liu Ming-chuan in the Sino-French War of 1884, and its gate bears the words Tenable Gate of the Sea. It is now a national monument with old gun platforms and stone walls.
Joined to the city by Heping Bridge, this island lies just 75 metres from Taiwan, and the Spanish built their Fort San Salvador here in 1626. Its seaside park, once under military control, is known for mushroom-shaped rocks, tofu-like grids of sandstone and broad wave-cut platforms.
Also called Holland Castle, this sea-facing fort above the harbour mouth may date from the Dutch and Spanish era, was occupied by the French during the Sino-French War and was remodelled by the Japanese. Its gun platforms, control centre and observation post look out to Keelung Islet.
Built in 1820 on Mount Dawulun at 231 metres above the sea, this fort guarded the west side of Keelung Harbour and was manned by Qing troops in the Opium War of 1840 and the Sino-French War of 1884. Visitors walk among its stone walls with arched windows, its tunnels, barracks and trenches.
This volcanic island 4.9 kilometres off the coast rises 182 metres from the sea and has a lighthouse, a small harbour and a walkway. Once seen as sacred and later used for military training, it opened to tourists in 2001 and reopened in 2019, with boats from Badouzi, Bisha and the city harbour.
Opened in 2014 in the shell of the North Thermal Power Plant, built by the Japanese in 1937 on reclaimed land, this large museum covers the marine environment, shipbuilding, fishing and the deep sea, with an IMAX theatre. It welcomed nearly 1.4 million visits in 2016 and has its own railway stop.
Badouzi was once a separate island, joined to Taiwan when land was filled in for a power plant in the Japanese era. Work on its fishing harbour began in 1975, and today boats leave from here for Keelung Islet. The water lanterns of the festival are floated out to sea here.
Built by the Japanese in 1934, this was once the largest fishing port in Taiwan and the main export port for copper from the Jinguashi mine. Life is slower here now, but locals and visitors come for the row of 16 houses painted in bright colours standing in a line along the quay.
This Buddhist temple sits inside a sea-eroded cave in Zhongshan District and dates back to the Qing era, when fishermen are said to have rested and prayed here. Known as the Fairy Cave, it was one of the Eight Views of Keelung, and an inscription carved in 1874 still marks its walls.
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